FGM declines by 6 pc in eight years
A traditional female genital mutilation surgeon in Tana River County displays her tools of trade. The 2022 KDHS released on Tuesday, shows that between 1998 and 2003, FGM cases dropped by six per cent.
What you need to know:
- The 2022 KDHS shows that between 1998 and 2003, FGM cases dropped by six per cent just as it was in 2008/9-2014 and 2014-2022.
- The rate at which they decreased was slowest between 2003-2008/9 which recorded a five per cent slump.
- The data shows that the women aged 40-44 years are the most cut at 24 per cent.
Prevalence of (FGM) has declined by six per cent in eight years, a proof that former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration failed to achieve his target of zero FGM by end of 2022.
Of interest is that the pace of decline was stagnant even with the spirited efforts put forth upon Mr Kenyatta’s declaration in 2019.
The 2022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) released on Tuesday, by Kenya National Bureau of Statistics shows that between 1998 and 2003, the cases dropped by six per cent just as it was in 2008/9-2014 and 2014-2022.
The rate at which they decreased was slowest between 2003-2008/9 which recorded a five per cent slump.
When broken down to age groups, the data shows that the women aged 40-44 years are the most cut at 24 per cent.
The 45-49 year-olds are the second with a 23 per cent prevalence, dropping down to 19 per cent for those in the 35-39 age bracket.
The prevalence is least (nine per cent) among 15-19 year-olds, followed by the 20-24 year-olds at 10 per cent.
Similarly, 13 per cent of the 25-29 year-olds have been subjected to the cut and 16 per cent of those aged 30-34 years.
By 1998, Kenya lacked a distinct law criminalising FGM but even with the enactment of Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act in 2011, the fight is complex that even politicians fear turning it into a campaign agenda lest they lose votes.
While experts hold that the road to ending FGM has to be the same taken in concurrent with eliminating child marriages because often the cut precedes an early union.
For instance, girls from Samburu, Maasai and Somali communities are highly likely to experience both harmful practices because of their cultural orders.
